I am running (well I'll try!) the Birmingham 10k for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity because They are amazing & made jakes future a safe one xx

We support Birmingham Children's Hospital to improve the lives of sick children

Charity Registration No. 1160875

Story

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.When jake arrived 6 weeks premature on 28th June 2014, we thought he was perfect. Tiny & needed some help in scbu, but perfect.I immediately noticed his head wasn't quite right, I repeatedly asked the paediatricians their thoughts, it didn't trouble me how he looked I just wanted to know he was ok. With no reason to think otherwise I believed his head shape was "prem baby head" and it would settle in time, we'd even convinced ourselves it was getting better.So it was heartbreaking at his 8week scbu check up that the consultant was unhappy with jakes head growth, it had gone off the scale on the chart in his red book. He ordered an emergency X-ray that we had done that day & gave me a brief overview of a condition called craniosynostosis, I'd never heard of this & was quite naive about the impending surgery.The X-ray confirmed craniosynostosis, and a CT scan was ordered, it confirmed his Sagittal suture (running from front to back in his skull) was indeed fused along most of its length, resulting in jakes long, almost rugby ball shaped head. The anxiety about his forthcoming operation was overwhelming, in a nutshell the surgery would entail an incision from ear to ear across the top of my baby's head & his skull removed & the fused bone removed & then the skilled team would rebuild Jakes skull using dissolvable wires & bolts to hold it all together until his bones grew & 'knitted' it all back together again. The purpose was to give Jakes brain room to grow and give his head a more rounded appearance.(Am aware I'm waffling now! Bear with me I'm almost done!) After a couple of heart rendering, emotional outpatient appointments at the wonderful Birmingham children's hospital, the 29th January 2015 was here. Jakes surgery day. The staff on ward 10 BCH were just amazing, caring & calming Kev & myself as well as meticulously caring for our little 7 month old baby. Handing Jake over sedated in the theatre was so so incredibly hard, but we knew it had to be done and we 100% and more trusted the team. 6 hours or so later the operation was complete & a success, jake recovered on ward 10 for the next 4 days until we came home. The care we both received whilst staying there was simply fantastic, the NHS gets a lot of stick, but I won't hear a bad word said about it. Without the expert care Jake received it doesn't bear thinking about what might of happened.I'll never be able to thank the Cranio team enough for their care, expertise and empathy whist we were there, but by doing this 10k ( which has came around rather quick!) I can hopefully give a little back & fund something on the ward to help future families going through this. All my sponsorship will go directly to ward 10 where Jake was cared for. Every penny counts and we are very very grateful to you all for your kind donations. Think I better go for a run & get some training in! Thank you xxxxxxx #127939;#128156;#128139;#127973; Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

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About the charity

It's bewildering and unsettling for anyone going into hospital but especially for children and that is why we are a fundraising hospital. We raise funds to enhance the experience of our patients by providing state of the art medical equipment and facilities and creating a child-friendly environment.